


Spinelologie:// Mechanical Heart

by Reeceweep



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Steven Universe Future (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Angst, F/F, Feels, Fluff, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Robot AU, Robots, Slow Burn, Spinel Robot, spinearl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-20 11:09:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22182940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reeceweep/pseuds/Reeceweep
Summary: Having her previous purpose erased by unfortunate circumstances, Spinel now has to settle in a unfamiliar situation. At least she has Peep to help her out. But questions still linger...who or what is Spinel?........This AU was created a while ago and I first posted the chapters on my tumblr. Now it's on here as well! Happyhipertoaster176 on tumblr also has a alternate story comic on the au too so please check it out!
Relationships: Spinel/Pink Pearl (Steven Universe)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time using Ao3 so I apologize if I make some mistakes here and there. Anyways this story wouldn't have been made if it wasn't for happyhipertoaster176's support. She has also has made an alternative story for the au on her tumblr so check it out if you haven't. I hope you all enjoy!

After thousands of years since being used, the warp pad suddenly illuminated in a bright light. The light was there for only a few moments when it disappeared and had a gem in its place. That gem was a pink pearl.

Peep stepped off the warp pad and looked around. The garden seemed like a different place than she remembered it. Many of the flowers and plants had either died or had overgrown. The pillars that lined the walkway had crumbled into pieces and were left scattered on the ground. The garden was a bleak and dull replacement of what it once was.

Despite this, Peep still remembered it as a place where she spent many of her days with her diamond, goofing and playing around.

Peep sighed and sat down. Those days were over and she was never going to get them back even if she wanted to. Pink Diamond’s son who she gave her form up for, had established peace between Homeworld and Earth. He had also helped free Peep from the control of White Diamond.

It was very hard at first for Peep to take in the news that her diamond was gone. The person who she felt she can be herself with. The person who she dearly cared for and would die for.

Over time however, Peep had accepted the fate of Pink. The only thing she can do now was appreciate the memories she had shared with her. This was the reason why she had come back to the garden. Many good memories were made in this place.

Peep continued to reminisce for what seemed like hours before she decided to go back to Homeworld. Before leaving she took one long last look at the garden. Looking around however, she saw something that caught her by surprise.

What seemed like a small figure stood in the middle of the garden. It was hard to make out exactly what it was since it was so dark. The figure also didn’t seem move at all, it just stood there, motionless.

Peep didn’t know what to do, or even how to think. How did someone get in the garden that only she and Pink knew about? What were they doing there? Were they friendly? Would they hurt her if she decided to come near them?

All of these questions raced through Peeps mind while the figure remained in place. Peep then managed to get herself together and decided on what to do. She had to find out who this was and why they were here. Mustering up all the courage that she had, Peep began walking down the steps and headed towards the garden.


	2. Chapter 2

As Peep walked off the steps and got into the garden, she could make out more of the mysterious figure's features. It had a upside-down heart shaped stone on its chest so Peep knew right away that it was another gem. Her hair was a magenta color and was in the form of pigtails. She wore a dark magenta top and puffy magenta shorts along with pink shoulder pads and gloves. She also had white stockings and knee-high boots. Her head seemed to be slightly lowered and had her hands clasped together in front of her. 

Peep felt a bit of relief. Many of the gems on Homeworld had dropped their old ways and had become more accepting of each other. They were also allowed to explore other planets to help dismantle the Diamond’s empire or just to have an adventure. Maybe this gem had come here by accident and decided to explore the area. Peep having more optimism, started running up to the pink gem. 

When she got closer however, something made her stop in her tracks.

The gem had an unusual look about her. There was a weird luster to her that no gem should have. She had segmented lines all across her arms and legs, similar to how gems looked when they were hit with a destabilizer. A gray dot was on each side of her mouth and boots. She also had her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. Three more lines ran down each of the eyes. The weirdest part of all however, was the fact that she looked very withered and what seemed like wires were protruding out of her. 

Peep was taken aback by this. Not only did this gem didn’t really look like a gem at all but it looked like she had been here for a very long time. This was proven by the fact that the overgrowth had consumed her feet and vines were running up her legs. 

“How can this be?” Peep thought, “Pink and I were the only ones allowed in the garden. How did this… thing get here and stay here as long as it has without anyone noticing?” 

Although fear of knowing nothing about this being and what it might do if she woke it up, Peep wanted answers. Peep cautiously walked up to the uncanny gem until she was a foot away from it. 

“Hey… Do you mind waking up, you seem like you’ve been sleeping for a long time,” Peep said.

No response came from her.

“I know you can hear me. Stop pretending you can’t,” Peep said a bit louder. 

Still nothing.

“Just wake up already!” Peep shouted, frustratingly so.

She didn’t even move an inch. 

Peep gave an exasperated sigh. Maybe the being wasn’t really sleeping after all. Peep then decided to get up close and take a closer look. She circled around the being thinking of what to do when her eyes landed on the heart-shaped gemstone. It had a colorless gray look to it that stood out from the pink complexion. 

Peep found this interesting and thought that maybe she could do something with it. Peep then put out her hand and slowly reached for the gemstone. Her arm shook more vigorously as it came closer but eventually her fingers made contact with the gemstone. 

In that exact moment the gemstone suddenly began to glow brightly. The being began to shake, making clicking sounds as it did so. Peep quickly pulled her arm back and was so paralyzed by fear that she couldn’t move. 

The being continued to shake and click until her eyes began to slowly open. Peep continued to look on in horror. At last, after a bit of creaking her magenta eyes were now fully open and they blinked up at Peep. 

Peep, finally regaining her senses, began to back away only to be tripped up by the rubble and fell down hard to the ground. In the midst of the pain she looked up at those magenta eyes as they stared back at her. 

She then began to speak: ”Wh….at?...*creak*..Wh..o..oo..a.r..e..*snap*..y..o...u?” 

She spoke in a broken voice that was interfered with mechanical noises. The ends of her hanging wires also began to spark constantly. Peep was at a loss for words. She couldn’t think of anything to say over the shock she just had. 

“P-Peep,” was the only word that seemed to escape from her mouth.

“Y..ou..’re..*crack*..n..o..t..h..e..r..*click*. Wh...er..e...i..s..*tik*...s..h..e?” 

“W-Who are you talking about?” Peep asked. 

“I..w..as..*grind*...su..p..p..o..s..ed..t..o.*snap*..w..ai..t..f..o.*crack*.r..h.e..r..b..ut..s..h*click*e..h..as..*click*n’t..c..o..me..b..*pop*a..ck..y..e..*clink**clank*t..”

It was hard for Peep to make out what the robot said as the interruptions in her speech were becoming more frequent and distorting. The gemstone then began to lose it’s pink glow and the robot’s eyes started to flutter. 

Peep immediately got up from the ground just as the robot began to stagger and lose its balance in the overgrowth. Peep caught her as she started to fall and helped her back on her feet. The robot was still struggling to stay active as she began to shake again and sparks were now flying off of her. Peep still held on to her by the shoulders

“You don’t look too well,” Peep said, “I can get you out of here and-”

“NO!” The robot snapped, “Sh..e..ee.*crack* t..o..old..mmm..*click*...ee..t..o..*grind*..s..t..ay..h..eerr*snap*..ee.”

“Who is this ‘she’ you keep talking about?!” Peep retorted.

The robot tried to answer but she couldn’t compose herself any longer. Her gemstone lost more of it’s radiance until it had reverted back to a grey color. Her eyes snapped shut and she began to fall forward. Peep grabbed onto her as she fell right into her. 

Before the robot fell completely limp in Peep’s arms, she uttered something that would change Peep’s world forever. 

“P..i..n..k.”


	3. Chapter 3

Back at the palace, the Diamonds were on their respective thrones, doing nothing in particular, when *BAM* the doors burst open to have Peep running into the throne room. 

“Ah Peep, you finally came back”, Blue Diamond said in her calming, gentle voice, “We’ve been waiting for you forev- wait, what are you carrying?”

Peep had to catch her breath before she responded. She had carried the robot from the garden, warped back to Homeworld, and ran back to the palace without taking a moment's rest. 

“I found her at the garden standing all by herself. She looked really banged up so I brought her back here.” Peep finally said.

“The garden?” White said “No one has been there for thousands of years. The only gems that have ever been allowed to go there were you, Pink and...no...no, it can’t be.”

White covered her mouth as she and the other Diamonds looked down upon the robot, their eyes filled shock.

“It really can’t be her...can it?” Blue said. 

“You guys know who she is? Can you tell me anything about her?” Peep questioned.

The Diamonds looked at each other confused. “You don’t remember her?” Yellow asked.

“N-no?...Am I supposed to?”

White thought for a moment. “It might be because of how long you’ve been under my control. It made you forget about what happened before you were given to me.”

Now that she thought about it Peep never clearly remembered the events that led up to her being White’s Pearl. Nor did she remember how she had lost her eye. She had always thought she lost it during the time she was under White’s control but now she wondered whether it had anything to do with her being replaced. 

“I think White’s right,” Peep said, “I don’t remember meeting her at all. You all are going to have to jog my memory so I can remember.”

The Diamonds looked back at each other once again, only this time, their faces were painted with worry. Yellow then sighed and kneeled down close to Peep, prepared to tell her the truth.

“As you may know from your remaining memories being with Pink, we were running out of resources to create new gems. A few of the colonies we conquered back then used robots for their militia and they were actually really resilient against the gem invasion. So White, Blue and myself decided to try and create a gem-robot soldier using their technology as well mixing it with ours. It took us a while but we finally managed to create a powerful prototype that we hoped would help us take down whole armies and capture more planets.” 

Peep looked down at the robot that laid dormant in her arms. She never would’ve guessed that this would be a robot that could cause such destruction. Although a bit morbid, Peep thought it was kind of impressive. 

Blue picked up from where the story left off. “We never told Pink about the experiment and she got really curious. She would ask us what we were doing and we said that we were simply taking care of personal Diamond business. That answer didn’t satisfy her curiosity though. She tried to follow us to where the robot was being built but we’d tell her to go back to her room. This continued for a long time until one day, we found Pink with the robot laid broken on the floor. You were also unconscious with your left eye now gone.”

Peep’s eye widened. “So that’s when it happened,” she said softly. She now partially remembered Pink telling her that she thought that the Diamonds were hiding something from her and wanted her help to find out what it was. Anything else after that though was still a blur to her. 

White nodded. “Pink never got to explain what happened since we immediately told her off to deal with the mess she made. Since you were defective with the cracked eye you were...replaced as you already know. The robot was then taken back and repaired but when it activated, she functioned differently than expected. She acted very goofy, silly and seemed to not want to hurt anybody. We were going to discard the robot somewhere when we noticed Pink wasn’t happy with her new Pearl. She no longer had someone who brought her such joy and fun into her life as you had. She was lonely. We gave her the robot and while hesitant at first, Pink began spending all the time playing games with her. She even came up with a name for her, ‘Spinel’ I think it was. They were inseparable and never spent a minute apart. It was like she had been best friends with her the whole time.”

A twinge of betrayal and anger began to stir up in Peep. She always thought that she was the only person that could bring joy to her former Diamond. Now it felt like she was completely forgotten by Pink and was easily substituted by Spinel. “She probably didn’t even think for a second about how I was suffering under White’s control,” Peep thought. 

Blues words interrupted her thoughts. “I don’t understand however how you found Spinel in the garden. We had given Pink the Earth while they were together. She would’ve taken her to Earth with her as well right?

Blue did bring up an interesting point. Spinel was best friends with her after all. Why wouldn’t you bring your best friend along for your first colony? Peep pondered over this before reminding herself why she had come here in the first place. 

“Well why don’t we fix her up and let her answer that question herself?” Peep suggested. 

“I don’t know about that,” Yellow said, “She looks pretty bad as it is. Also for how long she was stuck unattended in the garden, she might not wake up even if we repair her.” 

“She was doing pretty well when I activated her. She told me she was waiting for Pink and was adamant in staying at the garden. I really want to know what happened to her and I know you all want to know too. I’ll even help out in fixing her!” Peep was at her wits end in begging for the Diamonds to repair Spinel and would do anything to get her goal. 

“Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try,” Blue said looking sympathetically at Spinel, “She is one of Pink’s lost treasures after all. I think Pink would appreciate if we help her playmate get back in good condition.”

“She did always reminded me of Pink in how playful she was,” White chimed in “Maybe she can live here with us and have her throw balls like Pink used to do! What do you think Yellow?”

Yellow still looked doubtful but looking at the hopeful faces of her fellow Diamonds, she knew she couldn’t argue with them and surrendered herself. “Fine. Just don’t get your hopes up too much if things don’t go well like last time. Now let’s take her back to her room. Most of the tools we need are in there.”

The Diamonds then started their way there with Peep right behind them. She walked with a spring her step while still having Spinel sleeping in her arms. “Don’t you worry,” Peep whispered to her, “You’ll be good as new in no time. I promise.”


	4. Chapter 4

Soon the Diamonds and Peep arrived at a large door at the very back at the palace.The door had a gray look to it and had no detailed engravings which made it stand out from the rest of the palace. A control panel was beside the door and was at Peep’s height. 

“Oh, Peep! Would you mind getting the door for us? I’ll tell you the code for it,” Blue said.

“Oh yeah, sure.” Peep gently put Spinel down on the floor and walked to the panel. She carefully followed the instructions Blue gave her and soon the screen turned green and the door slid open. Peep quickly retrieved Spinel and went inside behind the Diamonds.

The room was pretty huge considering it had to fit three Diamonds in at the same time. Probably the same size as the throne room Peep calculated. The room itself though was dull still sporting that gray complexion. It didn’t help that it didn’t have much light except for the windows that went around the room above the Diamonds. What held Peep’s attention however, was the long flight of stairs in front of her. There seemed to be stairs from each side of the room which all led to a long white table. The light from the windows all collected together on the table which further showed its significance. 

The Diamonds were now on each side of the room with Yellow on the left, Blue on the right, and White, standing beside Peep, at the front entrance. They all nodded at her to go on. Staring up at the steps one last time, Peep took a deep breath and steadily made her way up with Spinel. 

The trek seemed to take forever and it became more tiring with each step she took. Determination and perseverance were the only things that propelled her forward. Before she thought she would collapse, the last step unveiled a flat floor with the table just a few feet away. Peep staggered her way there with the strength she had left. At last, Peep laid Spinel down on the table and sat down beside it, taking a breather. 

“Alright I think it’s about time we start working on fixing her.” Peep said as she got back up and looked down on Spinel. “So how exactly do we know what needs to be fixed?”

“Well from looking at her exterior she definitely needs a fresh coat of paint and replacements for those hanging wires,” Yellow said. Peep couldn’t really get the terminology but she decided not to question it. “What really matters is how her inner programming is holding up. Peep if you can hold down her power button for a few seconds it should open up her exterior.”

Peep easily figured that Spinel’s heart-shaped gem was the ‘power button’ Yellow was referring to and pressed her hand over it. A few moments later sprays of steam along with a hissing sound came from the gemstone. A series of clicks proceeded and then Peep noticed that Spinel’s front cover had come loose. Not knowing what to expect, Peep slowly removed the cover. 

Inside, there was a wide range of what Peep thought were also wires coursing through Spinel. Most of them seem to trace from the gemstone that was still intact. Some of the wires were connected to boards that had weird markings and buttons on them. Small multicolored light blinked up at Peep as well. Peep found what she saw strange and unsettling. 

The Diamonds hovered their heads over Peep, their eyes scanning over the robot’s innards. “Hmm, her CPU doesn’t look too bad so that’s a good sign,” Yellow said. 

“Yes but some of her circuit boards appear damaged so they definitely need replacements,” pointed out White.

“Her wires are also torn apart,” Blue added. “The poor thing, having to withstand herself in such a state for who knows how long.”

“Tell me about it,” Peep muttered under her breath. 

“Now that we roughly know what needs to be repaired, it’s time we bring out the tools,” Yellow stated, “There is a control panel on your side of the table. The yellow button is for tools and the blue button is for Spinel’s blueprints,” she instructed Peep. 

Peep looked down and saw the control panel. The Diamond insignia was shown on the screen with each symbol being its own button. Peep first pressed the blue one which immediately projected a transparent screen in front of her. A more detailed diagram of Spinel and her parts were shown. The yellow button was then pressed. 

A yellow light in an outline of a rectangle appeared on the side of the table. It then opened up to reveal a drawer of various tools and mechanical parts. Peep picked one up and examined it. 

“Ah perfect Peep! A screwdriver is a good tool to start removing parts,” Blue said.

“That’s good and all but I don’t know how to use these tools much less how to repair a robot,” Peep said. 

“Don’t you worry about that,” White responded, “We’ll help you on what you need to do for as long as it takes.”

“Shouldn’t you guys need to worry more about managing Era 3 than this?”

“Well who else is going to teach you? This would be so much easier if our Pearls were here to help out but they’re so busy working on their show,” Yellow confessed. 

“The Pearls?” Peep questioned. She fumbled around the small tool in her hands when she realized something. “The Pearls were the ones that made Spinel.” 

“Under our direction they did. They were the only gems we could really rely on to get the job done. It’s rather difficult for a Diamond to hold a hammer your size and expect to build a robot.” Blue explained. 

Peep really had her work ahead of her. She never realized that she would be the only capable person who could fix Spinel. On top of not having prior knowledge about robots was it really worth it? Peep cast aside her doubts. If two Pearls with no experience were able to make Spinel from scratch, what stopped her from just making minor fixes? Besides, she wanted some answers. 

“I think I’m up to the task. Now about using this screwdriver…”

Over the next few days Peep worked nonstop under the Diamonds’ guidance on Spinel. Despite her doubts she learned fairly quickly whatever the Diamonds taught her. All much to the point where Peep confidently worked alone. 

During one of those days Peep was surprised to see Blue and Yellow Pearl enter the room. They heard of what happened and were more than glad to assist Peep even if it was only for a day. Peep really enjoyed their company and it was hard for her to see them leave. 

After that, it wasn’t long before Spinel was in perfect condition. The Diamonds and Peep looked over at the blueprints one last time. 

“Voice box?”

“All good.”

“Motion sensors?”

“Check.

“Battery”

“Fully recharged.”

“Alright that’s everything done then. All we need to do now is to wake her up. Peep if you can do the honors.” White said.

Peep put Spinel’s cover that was newly painted back on. Peep then hovered her shaking hand over the gemstone and closed her eyes. It was time to see if they’re work paid off. Her fingers made contact.

The gemstone started to glow brighter than ever before. Actually, it seemed to be shining brighter with each passing moment. It then become so bright that everyone had to cover their eyes from the blinding light. A few more seconds passed before the light dissipated and their gaze once again fell on Spinel. However this time, a pair of magenta eyes stared back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for slight violence

Spinel slowly sat up from the table and scanned her new surroundings. Her eyes panned over to the Diamonds who looked back in complete awe. Her gaze then fell on Peep who stood right next to her with a small smile on her face. Spinel’s eyes widened. 

“You, w-where did you take me to?” She spoke in a now clear robotic voice, much more understandable than when Peep first met her. 

“You’re back at the palace where you were made,” Peep explained, “You were in really bad shape when I found you so I brought you here to get repaired. It’s nice to finally meet-”

“How long have I stayed here for?” Spinel interjected with a twinge of fear in her voice. 

“You needed a lot done so I would say a long while,” Peep said. 

What looked like slight worry immediately changed to sheer panic in Spinel’s expression. Her eyes darted back to the Diamonds, “Where’s Pink? Has she come back from her assignment yet?” she asked. 

The Diamonds had pained looks on their faces at the mention of Pink. Peep winced, it had passed her mind that Spinel never found out what happened to her Diamond when she left. They unfortunately had the heavy task of breaking the bad news to her. 

White regaining her composure spoke, “She has not come back yet but I don’t think you should go back-”

“But I have to!” Spinel cut in again raising her voice, “She told me to stand still in the garden! If she arrives and I’m not there to greet her, she’ll start to worry where I am. I need to go.” Spinel leaped off the table and made her way quickly down the steps.

“Spinel, please wait,” Blue pled reaching out her arm, “We need to tell you something.” 

“Well it can wait. Right now I need to be there for Pink,” Spinel said without looking back. She now was at the door waiting for it to open. It didn’t move for her. Spinel reached out her arms and grabbed hold of the door frame. With only a slight pull the large door fully opened. Spinel ran out of the room.

Peep looked on until Spinel turned a corner and disappeared into the palace. She glanced back at the Diamonds to see Blue and White with disheartened looks. Yellow on the other hand seemed nonchalant.

“Somebody needs to tell her,” Yellow said sternly, “She needs to know or else she’ll be right back there waiting for no one.” 

Peep looked down at the vacant table. “I’ll do it,” she said, “I was the one who brought her here in the first place after all. She must be so confused.” The Diamonds looked at each other for a moment before nodding solemnly at Peep. 

“That will be much appreciated. Thank you Peep,” White said her face brightening up a bit. Peep nodded back and ran down the flight of stairs. 

“Oh and Peep,” Blue called as she was about to exit the room. Peep glanced back, “Please be careful.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” she replied slightly surprised about Blue’s concern, “I’ll be back with Spinel in no time!” She gave a reassuring smile before heading off. 

Peep wandered the long halls of the palace calling out Spinel’s name. She looked in each room she passed by but they were completely empty. What seemed like hours passed with no sign of the robot to be found. She almost gave up her search when out of the corner of her eye, a blur of pink zoomed past a connecting hallway. Peep immediately rushed after Spinel, finally being hot on her trail. 

“Spinel! Hey wait up!” Peep called out. Spinel didn’t respond nor did she slow down. Peep struggled to keep up with Spinel as she frantically searched for a way out. They swept through corridors and sprinted down stairs until Peep began to lose track of Spinel.

They turned a corner and suddenly, the halls opened up to reveal the throne room. A galaxy warp was in the center of the room, finally an escape. Spinel dashed for the warp. Peep, fearing the worst, used the last of her energy to try to stop her.

However, she wasn’t quick enough. Spinel stepped up on the warp.

“NO!” Peep yelled as a white light lit up over the warp along with Spinel. Peep fell down on her knees defeated and exhausted. The light vanished. Peep looked back up and was shocked. Spinel was still standing on the warp. Spinel was surprised herself when she saw that she was still in the palace. 

“W-what? Why didn’t it work?” Spinel asked herself. She continued to stay on the warp, hoping that another light would come and take her home. Nothing happened. 

“No...nononono. This always worked whenever Pink used these….so why isn’t it working for me!?” Spinel’s anxiety worsened with each passing second that she remained. 

“Please! I just want to get back to her!” She cried. Still no response.

“AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGG!” Spinel screamed in a fit of rage and despair. She swung her fists down hard on the warp. Peep felt a chill go down her spine as the room shook from the impact. Pieces started to fall off as large cracks formed on the surface, rendering the warp completely useless.

Realizing that she had destroyed her only escape, Spinel collapsed on her knees. Tears started to roll down her cheeks and dripped onto the floor. She had her back towards Peep but she knew from the sniffing and slight gasps that Spinel was crying. 

Peep got up and started to walk towards Spinel. She got close and reached out her hand to comfort her. As her hand was about to gaze her shoulder, Spinel looked back and noticed her. They stared at each other for a moment. Spinel’s tear filled eyes suddenly contorted in anger. She turned around and grabbed Peep by the shoulders. Peep yelped in fear. 

“YOU!” She yelled, “You’re the one that took me away! You’re the one who got me stuck here! It’s all your fault!” 

“I-I was only trying to help you. Just please listen to me!” Peep struggled against Spinel’s grip to which she didn’t budge. 

“You were chasing after me in this wretched place trying to stop me! You made me destroy my only way out! Why would I listen to you after what you just did to me?!”

“It’s about Pink! She isn’t going to come back to you anymore.”

“Liar! She needs me there! I’m her only best friend. She would never do that to me because she loves me!”

Peep finally snapped, “Do you think she still loves after she left you for six thousand years!?” 

Spinel was stunned by what Peep said. She suddenly remembered the countless nights that she stood still in the garden, hoping that one night, she would see the face of her Diamond again. Was it really true? Did Pink really forget about her? Spinel still refused to believe so. She had enough of this gem’s lies. 

“Well do you know what I think? I think you should just stop lying and...LET. ME. LEAVE!”

Spinel tightened her grip on Peep, squishing her shoulders together as hard as she could. Peep screamed, unable to withstand the feeling of her body being crushed. Tears of her own started to fall as she was forced to look at her death in the eyes. The eyes in particular, had no pupils or color. They just stared back at her dead and soulless. 

Spinel didn’t feel anything at all when she started crushing the stranger. However, when she saw the anguish, the pain written all over her face struggling to survive, remorse started to take over. She let go and backed away. Spinel was frightened of what she had just done and looked on helplessly as the gem fell to the ground.

Peep slowly recovered, her shoulders still stinging when she moved them. She found Spinel, hands over her mouth, moving away from her. Her eyes had recovered their pink color and black pupils. Peep attempted to go to Spinel but she kept backing away from her, keeping a distance.

“Please, just let me return to the garden,” she begged, “I just want to be with Pink again, that’s all. I don’t know what came over me but I don’t want to hurt you like that again.”

Peep sighed, “I know you do but you can’t. I need you to believe me. She’s really been gone for a long time. I don’t know why she left you behind but I understand how you must feel right now.”

Spinel searched for any sign of deceit in her face but she looked generally sincere “So it’s true ...she really did abandon me didn’t she?”

“I’m afraid so,” Peep looked downcast, “I’m so sorry.”

Spinel sat down on the floor and covered her eyes, trying to take it all in. “My only purpose was to be her best friend and I couldn’t even do that. Why else would she leave me? I should have done more. I failed her ...I'm useless.” Her voice quivered as another sob forced itself from her throat. 

“That's not true Spinel. You’re not the only one who she hurt. The Diamond’s, Homeworld, me...she ran away from everybody. She didn’t even say a proper goodbye. You’re not alone in this because we are all in grief over her.”

Spinel wiped her tears away, “If she’s not coming back then there’s no point in returning to the garden. Where am I going to go now? Who’s going to take me in? What’s my purpose now?”

“Well the Diamonds really seem interested in letting you stay here. I think they need someone to cheer them up.”

Spinel seemed hesitant, “What if I don’t live up to their expectations? What if I can’t keep them happy and they put me to the side like Pink did?

“I understand that you’re worried but it doesn’t hurt to try at least. Who knows, maybe the Diamonds are who you really need right now. What do you say?” Peep offered her hand down to Spinel. 

Spinel looked away reluctantly, her doubts impeding her. She then glanced up at the warm inviting smile the gem gave. Something about her let Spinel’s fears wash away almost instantly. She gave the gem her hand and was helped back on her feet. Spinel gave a hopeful smile back. Hands still locked, Peep led Spinel back into the palace where her new best friends waited.


End file.
